Each of Wales 22 unitary authorities is required to have a least one overview & scrutiny Committee, although they are sometimes called ‘forums’, ‘boards’ or ‘panels.’ In practice most authorities have more than one overview & scrutiny committee. Overview & scrutiny committees scrutinise the decisions of council executives, as well as monitoring performance, contributing to policy development and review and investigating matters which affect the authority’s area or the inhabitants of that area. Overview & scrutiny committees do not make decisions, but they can make recommendations to the executive and full council.
The WLGA, in partnership with the Centre for Public Scrutiny, continues to provide a range of support services to assist with the development of overview & scrutiny in Wales including bespoke support for individual authorities, production of publications, and the management and coordination of Regional and National Scrutiny Champions Networks.
For further information on scrutiny including publications, a database of scrutiny review reports from across Wales, England and Scotland and a discussion forums on scrutiny please visit the Centre for Public Scrutiny’s website at www.cfps.org.uk
The WLGA is currently working on a series of practice guides in conjunction with the scrutiny practitioners across Wales and once completed these guides will be accessible here. Guides currently under preparation include ‘Scrutiny of Budgets and the Budget Setting Process’, ‘The Development of a Scrutiny Culture’ and ‘Scrutiny: Driving Performance Improvement.’
For more information contact: Tim Buckle